The deductibility of charitable donations has been a feature of the U.S. individual income tax almost as long as the modern income tax has been in existence. Nevertheless, concerns about the cost, equity, and efficiency of the deduction have prompted many proposals to change the tax treatment of charitable contributions. This report examines patterns of individual charitable giving and analyzes how options for changing the tax treatment of such giving might affect the overall level of donations, the costs to the federal government, and the distribution of tax benefits by income group. Tables and figures. This is a print on demand edition of an important, hard-to-find publication.

Concerns about direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs have spurred recent proposals for a moratorium on advertising brand-name prescription drugs to consumers during the first two years following a drug’s approval by the Food and Drug Administration. This report examines some of the effects of such a moratorium, drawing on data documenting direct-to-consumer advertising and other promotional activities used by pharmaceutical producers as well as academic analyses of how advertising has affected the market for drugs. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand edition of an important, hard-to-find publication.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) examines many developments that could have short- or longer-term consequences for the budget and the economy. In coming decades, one such development is expected to be a slower rate of growth of the labor force relative to its average over the past few decades. That slowdown is anticipated to occur primarily because of the aging and retirement of large numbers of baby boomers and because women’s participation in the labor force has leveled off since the late 1990s after having risen substantially for the preceding three decades. This report describes CBO’s methods for projecting such trends through 2021. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand report.